


The Kingdom Of Illusions

by Llybian



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Disillusionment, F/M, Growing Up, Mirage Kingdom, Palace Intrigue, Romance, Ten Years Later, character exploration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-12-23 22:19:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11999073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Llybian/pseuds/Llybian
Summary: 10 years after their journey together ended, Dawn's Togekiss leads her and Ash back to the Mirage Kingdom where they meet up with Misty. Together they must save the kingdom and the Togepi Paradise from the chaos that has descended upon them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written December 2010.

Time hadn’t passed Dawn by. Oh, she was still roughly the same girl that had started her journey to be Top Coordinator nearly ten years previous. Her hair was a bit shorter and her skirts were a bit longer, but she hadn’t so much changed as grown. When you’ve got a dream, you can never give up on it… but she’d found out that surprisingly that was the easy part. It was achieving your dream and then dealing with that feeling that the world’s been swept out from under you that’s hard; it’s finding that new dream.

Which was why she’d been so excited to run into Ash at this year’s Wallace Cup. They’d both been in the audience: after Dawn’s triumphant assent to Top Coordinator of Sinnoh she’d been taking a break from participating in contests to bask in the glow of success… and figure out what exactly to do next. On the one hand, it should’ve been easy for her; her mother had gone through the same thing and got through it. But she wasn’t her mom. She’d land on her feet, but she wasn’t about to just copy her mother’s steps.

Anyway, even if she was taking a break, she couldn’t resist watching the coordinators take their bows. So she’d packed up her things and traveled to Hoenn’s Mauville City where the Cup was being held this year. Apparently Ash had wound up in the audience to support a competing coordinator he and Pikachu had met the day before whose Whiscash they help to save from thieves.

_Just like Ash. Always getting involved in other people’s problems._

Actually, she was kind of worried about him. Like her, he was in that confused ‘where do I go next?’ kind of place. But she was there for happy reasons and for him… not so much. He’d been to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Barra, Naune, and Pairaag and still a League victory eluded him. He’d literally run out of leagues.

Oh, there was always some new tournament somewhere and that was mainly what Ash was subsisting off now. He’d ended up in Mauville originally to take part in a small electric type tournament run by Wattson. He’d won too. He always did so well in smaller competitions. But in the leagues… well, it wasn’t like he didn’t do _well_. He did excellent. Top eight, top four… he’d even gotten all the way to the final two in Naune. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy Ash. Nothing short of Pokemon master would do.

And even though he was still the same old Ash—almost _too much_ the same old Ash—she could tell that it weighed on him. He was tired and he was doubting himself. But whenever he started to actually express that… the defense mechanisms would kick in.

_“Oh well! We’ll just have to train that much harder! Right, Pikachu?”_

It was getting sort of painful to watch. He used to say those things before and that had seemed fine. But they were older now, and it just seemed that…

Well, Dawn had never given up on her dream of being Top Coordinator either. But she’d been patient. She’d traveled, she’d hung out with friends, she’d spent a lot of time with her mom, and she’d even spent a few grueling years studying in Jubilife City to earn her teaching degree. Sure, she’d practiced, sure she’d participated in contests to eventually reach her goal, but the point was: she’d made room in her life for things besides Pokemon. And she felt like a better person for it.

Ash hadn’t done that. Oh sure, he had friends… friends he met _battling Pokemon_. And seeing them depended entirely on his Pokemon journey. He always said “we’ll see each other again,” sometimes to people he’d only met _once_ along the way. Sometimes it came true, but more often than not it didn’t. He left people behind to pursue his ambitions. He could’ve taken a break and turned around to see them, but… it seemed like that only happened if there was a Pokemon-based reason behind it.

Case in point: They’d only renewed their arrangement of traveling together temporarily because Ash was looking for transport to get back to Kanto and Dawn had already decided to sightsee in Hoenn.

Back when she was ten, she’d said it so many times: “Ash will definitely win,” and she’d believed it. She’d said the same thing about her own victories. But she didn’t do that anymore. First of all, you never knew. There were a whole lot of tough rivals out there, and as she’d grown she’d realized how disrespectful it was to make light of their chance to win. She’d believed in her abilities, and she believed she could win, but there was no shame in acknowledging the completion. And anyway, it’s better not to spit in Dame Fate’s eye.

She believed in Ash and his abilities too. But she also knew that there was always a bigger fish out there. If Ash won in Kanto then maybe he could stop obsessing and make more room for people in his life. But if he lost…

_“Oh well! We’ll just have to train that much harder! Right, Pikachu?”_

…And another crack under the surface.

How long could he really go on doing this before he found peace?

And the worst part was that she didn’t know what to say to him. You couldn’t just say: “Hey Ash, why not forget about this whole Pokemon thing for awhile and take up macramé? It doesn’t have to be forever and it might be good for your mental health.” This was _Ash Ketchum_ they were talking about. He would not take that well.

And just when her head wanted to explode from all this troublesome, borrowed stress, she paused, shook her head, and calmed. _I’m sure there’s no need to worry_ , she thought to herself. _Something will come up and it’ll all work out._

“Hey Ash,” Dawn said, in an effort hit on a light subject and with no intention of bringing up macramé, “did I tell you I ran into Kenny on the way here?”

“Oh really?” Ash asked, leaning forward. “How’s he doing?”

“Pretty good,” Dawn said. Then she added with a giggle, “he’s _way_ less of a twerp than he used to be.”

Ash winced. “Please don’t say ‘twerp.’”

“What? Bad Team Rocket memories?” Dawn asked. She tapped her chin with her finger. “Y’know, I never ran into them after I stopped traveling with you. Are they still stalking you? I haven’t seen them.”

“I… haven’t seen them since Unova,” Ash said with a grimace.

Dawn stared at him. “Don’t tell me you actually _miss_ them?”

“No! Of course not!” Ash spouted defensively.

But he did. They were part of the training… part of the adventure… and their attentions gave him worth. Battling Team Rocket… saving Pokemon from them… it was just part of the whole cycle. And now they’d gotten embroiled in something else somewhere too.

“I wonder what happened to them,” Dawn said speculatively. “Do you think they settled down somewhere together?”

“Settled down to what?” Ash asked, clueless.

Dawn gave him a mildly cold stare and then shrugged her shoulders. Some people never grow up.

Ash didn’t know what Team Rocket had settled down to do, but it was clear that they’d given up on their vow to capture Pikachu. They’d _given up_. How could they just walk away after all those years?

Walking away… now that was something he could never do. …But none of this would matter once he won the Indigo Plateau Conference. Of course he’d win! …Except that he’d said that before. But he was stronger now! …But what if…

Ash was not a fan of doubt in his mind. He’d never given up all those years, and he’d gotten stronger, he knew he had …but so did his rivals. And there were more and more of those too. New ones at least. The old ones seemed to vanish after awhile, on to… other things.

But things were starting to change. It had been a long time since he’d left home with his Pikachu. He was starting to feel like he was an old man in a young man’s game, which is utterly ridiculous at twenty. And surely, there were trainers much older than him. But the fact that he was twice the age of a lot of his competitors was starting to strike him as strange. It had never mattered to him when he was on the other side of the line, challenging the more experienced trainers. But now it made him feel… old. Like he was running out of time. He had to be nearly as old as Team Rocket by now.

He stopped and shook his head. _No_ , he thought. _I’ll never be that ancient._

And with that unfair and completely out of nowhere shot that made Jessie twitch violently thousands of miles away for reasons she couldn’t fathom, he took a breath and tried to focus on victory.

“This mountain air is really clear,” Ash said, looking up at the peaks far above them. “I feel stronger just breathing it.” Then he got an idea. “Hey, Swellow, come on out!” he said, lobbing a Poke ball. The bird looped out of its Poke ball with a cry and took to the open skies.

“Hey, that’s a great idea!” Dawn said, picking up two of her Poke balls. “Xatu, Togekiss! Come out and stretch your wings!”

The two flying types appeared in a flash from their Poke balls and swooped joyously through the air.

Ash lifted the cap on his hat—his seventh in a series—to see the flying spectacle more closely as Pikachu leaned forward on his shoulder and looked enchanted. “Cool! A Xatu! When’d you get that?”

“When I was traveling around Johto,” Dawn said proudly.

“And I see Togekiss is just as graceful as ever,” Ash commented, watching as she sailed through the sky.

“That’s for sure,” Dawn agreed. It was thanks to Togekiss that she’d managed to pull out a victory in the final round of the festival and attain her dream. She smiled warmly as it gave a call and pulled off a stylish dive.

Her smile dropped as it froze in the air, seemingly surrounded by a blue light.

“That’s not… Safeguard, is it?” Ash said, mystified.

“No…” Dawn said, confusedly.

And then Togekiss started to move, flying away from her with blank eyes, as though it were in a trance.

“Togekiss? Togekiss! Come back!” Dawn called, running after it along the uneven ground at the base of the mountain.

But Togekiss didn’t turn around.

* * *

Dawn and Ash had run after Togekiss until they couldn’t run anymore. Even by taking the short-cut through the mountain tunnel, Togekiss was still way ahead of them, flying over the desert beyond the mountains, immune to Dawn’s entreaties to return.

Luckily they’d found a place where you could rent off-road vehicles to cross the desert, and had snatched up a car. Dawn floored it and sent them roaring across the desert as fast as she could, with her hair streaming in the wind. Ash clung to his armrests for dear life as Pikachu and Piplup held onto their trainers. He might’ve complained about Dawn’s panic-stricken driving, but then again, she was the one with the license. She’d been rather snappish about that, not quite able to believe that he hadn’t “even gotten a license.” Well… it had been a hassle and there’d never been a right time, what with training and all. Anyway, there was nothing wrong with walking. It was healthier than breathing in gasoline.

Anyway, Dawn had a right to be panicked. What was up with Togekiss? It had never been like this before. Oh, sure it had its own way of doing things, but to actually run away?

He couldn’t shake the feeling that all this was somehow… familiar.

* * *

He only realized what it was for sure when they were closer. There was no doubt about it; Togekiss was heading with single minded determination toward a structure rising above the landscape. The desert had yielded to lush green treetops as they headed into the uplands. Nestled on a forested cliff was a castle, or… sort of a castle. It was bigger than a castle ought to be. It was like a castle with a city soldered straight onto it. The buildings all had the same style, and clustered together they looked like a bunch of different sized eggs in a nest.

Ash looked up over the strange metropolis to what Togekiss was really flying toward. It was a mirror image, an illusion of a second kingdom rising up out of the first. It couldn’t be real… but yet it held something truer than the land it reflected.

“The Mirage Kingdom,” Ash murmured.

“What?” Dawn asked, distracted turning to him for just long enough that she didn’t see the cobblestones up ahead.

The car buckled and lurched on the uneven surface, losing control and swerving as Dawn not so delicately applied the brakes.

“Whew,” she sighed in relief as the car narrowly avoided the city gate. She rose from her seat with Piplup still clinging to her, his legs turned to jelly from the crazy ride. Togekiss was just above them now. They’d managed to catch up via a flagrant disregard for safe traveling speeds. Maybe now she could…

“Togekiss, return!” she called out, holding the Poke ball above her head.

“Kiss?” Togekiss purred in befuddlement, as the blue glow left it and it traveled back into Dawn’s Pokeball.

Dawn held the Pokeball close to her. “Don’t scare me like that,” she whispered quietly. Then she turned around and fixed Ash with a fierce expression. “Alright, what’s going on here?” she demanded.

Ash froze. “What makes you think I know?” he asked defensively.

“You muttered something when you saw this place,” Dawn said, gesturing expressively up at the ornate, egg-shaped buildings. “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”

Ash put down his hands and gave up the ghost. “Alright, I have been here once before, with Misty and May and the others. But that was a long time ago, and anyway I don’t know why Togekiss would act that way.”

Misty and May… well, of course Dawn had met May on more than one occasion, but somehow Misty had always remained a mystery. She was the girl Ash had traveled with when he first started on his journey and she had a sort of… legendary quality to an outsider. There was always a good story following “I remember this one time, Misty and Brock and I…”

“Hold on,” Ash said, bringing his gloved fist down into his open palm. “Yeah, that’s it! It’s gotta have something to do with the Togepi paradise!”

“The Togepi Paradise?” Dawn repeated, befuddled.

“Yeah,” Ash said, pointing at the strange hallucination hovering above the kingdom. “Here in the Mirage Kingdom, Togepi are considered sacred, and live in the Togepi Paradise above the castle. Togekiss is Togepi’s final evolved form. So that’s gotta have something to do with it.”

Dawn looked worriedly up at the mirror kingdom and then back at the Poke ball in her hand. “So that’s what drew Togekiss here?”

“Gotta be,” Ash said with a nod. “The same thing happened to Misty’s Togepi before it evolved into a Togetic.”

“So, that place just sucks in any Togepi or evolution of Togepi in the area?” Dawn asked, sounding panicked.

“Uh… no,” Ash said, looking stumped once more. “That was only when the Togepi Paradise was in trouble because of this really bad guy called Colonel Hansen. Misty’s Togetic just wanted to help.”

“Do you think there’s something wrong again and my Togekiss wanted to help?” Dawn posited, looking around. Everything _seemed_ alright to her, but you never knew.

“Maybe,” Ash said, looking ahead at the castle. “There’s only one way to find out.”

* * *

You can’t just walk in on royalty without an appointment. Ash did not understand this rather fundamental fact and running up to the palace and shouting “We have to see Princess Sara right now!” at the first guard he saw could’ve gone badly for him. Luckily though, a plump women in a rotund purple hat, whose brown hair was just beginning to show some gray stopped by before Ash could be charged with “disturbing a member of the police force in the execution of his duty” or some such thing.

She recognized Ash much more quickly than he recognized her. But sure enough it was Miranda, the castle caretaker whom he’d met in the Mirage Kingdom ten years ago. She’d seemed quite happy to find him back in the kingdom, even going so far as to call it a miraculous twist of fate.

When he and Dawn explained to Miranda what had happened with Togekiss, Miranda had nodded and agreed that it would be best if they saw Sara.

“Is there some trouble going on here that my Togekiss could sense?” Dawn asked, as they were led up the portrait-festooned hall of the castle.

Miranda hung her head as they walked along. “I think it’s best if Her Majesty explains it to you,” she said wearily.

She seemed to regain much of her energy when they reached the door of a parlor. She threw the double doors open dramatically. “Your Majesty!” she began excitedly, “Ash Ketchum has come back! His friend’s Togekiss led them here!”

Ash and Dawn looked beyond Miranda into the room, waving somewhat nervously.

Sara, visible on the overstuffed couch, set down her teacup on the tray with another and got up immediately. Her light brown curls bounced as she gathered up her long skirts bearing marks similar to that of a Togepi and greeted them.

“Welcome friends,” she said, sounding much more regal than Ash remembered her being. “I can only hope that your arrival here is the miracle we’ve been hoping for.”

“Umm… gee,” Ash said, scratching his cheek nervously. For whatever reason he got this “hero” thing every so often. He’d never gotten used to it. He never would. “I don’t really know what the problem is, but I’ll do my best, Princess—” A thought struck him and he corrected himself, “I mean _Queen_ Sara, right?”

“That’s correct,” Sara said with a bright smile. “But you’re not the only miracle arrival we’ve had in the last few days.”

There was a clink of china from the tray in the parlor as a tea cup was picked up. It was impossible to see the figure beyond the door, but the hand gripping the tea cup handle could be seen. It had its pinky extended, hoity-toity style.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me, Ash Ketchum,” a voice said.

Dawn looked curiously at Ash who stepped back and nearly fell over.

“Pika pi!” Pikachu called excitedly, jumping off of Ash’s shoulder into the room.

“Misty?!” Ash said in obvious astonishment.


	2. Chapter 2

This was Dawn’s first time meeting Misty, so she didn’t realize how much she’d changed. Instead of the short ponytail she’d sported in her younger days, she had her hair out to her shoulders with a slight curl upwards at the ends. A fleecy, light-blue sweatshirt hung open over a one piece swimsuit. This wasn’t the kind of swimsuit that Dawn usually favored when she went bikini shopping. This one looked professional and… well, like it was _actually designed for underwater use_. Below that, she wore a pair of jeans that were folded up at the knee and sandals with yellow flowers on them.

Dawn had only barely gotten to introduce herself to Misty, who was giving everyone’s favorite electric mouse a great big hug, when Ash recovered from his surprise and raced over to greet her.

The change in Ash when he saw Misty was just… it was night and day. Before he’d been kinda let down looking and going through the motions, but now Dawn couldn’t even get a word in edgewise with Ash energetically talking to Misty about the new Pokemon he’d caught since he talked to her last, and how well he’d done in his league matches. He was actually _bragging_ _about the league matches!_ Dawn had tried to congratulate him on his second place in the Naune League when they met, and he’d thanked her in a stiff, polite, teeth-gritting kind of way. That loss when he’d been so close had knocked him down more than any loss and now he was using it to impress Misty?

And Misty was not only suitably impressed, but she’d followed his league appearances on television. The two were about to launch into a lengthy conversation about Ash’s league battles, Misty’s gym battles, and how everyone back in Cerulean City was doing, when Sara gave a polite cough.

They turned to look at her because, hey, when a Queen coughs, you pay attention. “I’m sorry to dampen the reunion of two such good friends,” she said, as Miranda left her side to get more tea cups, “but I think we ought to get down to business. Miranda’s told me what’s been going on, and I’m sure Dawn would like to know what inspired her Togekiss to fly off without warning.”

“Right,” Ash said, putting a hand behind head.

“Sorry!” Misty said.

“It’s no problem,” Dawn said giving them a bright smile, but she couldn’t help but cast a nervous look toward the Poke ball that held Togekiss.

Ash, Misty, Dawn, and Sara all sat down as Miranda passed full tea cups to the newcomers. Sara held her cup between her thin fingers, more for warmth then to drink and looked at a loss as to where to begin. “The Togepi Paradise which lies above our kingdom,” she finally began after some deliberation, “connects Togepi and their evolved forms Togetic and Togekiss. It is their main nesting ground and a deeply important spiritual place for them. The beauty and splendor of the Paradise is determined by the strength of the Togepi that reside there. If the hearts of the people in the kingdom are good then the Paradise blooms and the Togepi are happy. But if the hearts of the people are full of wickedness and chaos, then the Togepi weaken and so does the Paradise.”

“And you think that’s what’s happening right now, your Majesty?” Dawn asked, leaning forward with Piplup in her arms.

Sara gave a slight nod. It was a nod that said she would get there soon. “Ten years ago, just such an event happened. An evil man named Hansen tried to steal Misty’s Togepi in order to take the crown.” She stopped herself for some explanation for Dawn’s benefit. “In this kingdom, one may only become ruler when a Togepi finds them, and they are only fit to rule on their own when that Togepi leaves them for the Paradise.”

“But Hansen got more than he reckoned for when he tangled with my little Togepi,” Misty said with a prideful smile.

“He did indeed,” Sara agreed. “The Togepi that live in the Paradise fought against Hansen, as did Misty’s Togepi who evolved into a Togetic during the fight. We all banded against Hansen and came out victorious. He was thrown in jail for his crimes so that he couldn’t hurt the Togepi or the Mirage Kingdom anymore.”

“My own little Togepi came to me after that,” Sara said, “and I was able to ascend to the throne my parents’ held. Misty’s Togetic decided to stay and protect the Paradise and the royal family.”

A sadness crossed Misty’s eyes that Dawn knew well. It was hard to leave friends behind.

“All was well for the longest time,” Sara said, her eyes cast down. “Togepi and I ruled together over the Mirage Kingdom. The people were happy and so were the Togepi. I’ve seen the Paradise rebuilt and it’s the most beautiful thing you could imagine. …Though I doubt it is that way now.”

“What’s the matter?” Ash broke in, eager to get to the point. “That Hansen guy’s locked away, right? So there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Hansen was locked away,” Sara said sadly, “but two years ago he escaped from the dungeon—with help, I believe, and has since taken refuge in the Kingdom of Verum.”

“Verum?” Dawn repeated.

“They’re a neighboring kingdom,” Sara said, in a tone that implied that they weren’t very good neighbors. “While the Mirage Kingdom has been quite wealthy and successful, Verum has had trouble remaining a self-sustaining nation. They’re hungry for resources, and have been taking an increasingly antagonistic posture toward us. I have no doubt that Hansen is helping them and that he still has ambitions for the crown.”

“So that’s what’s messing things up in the Togepi Paradise,” Ash said thoughtfully.

“Partly,” Sara said diplomatically. “But the discord isn’t only abroad, but at home as well.”

“Yes, what’s been going on here, Sara?” Misty said, giving the Queen a searching look. “I’ve been here many times to visit Togetic, and I know what this kingdom’s like. …Something’s just wrong. The people don’t act the same.”

“There has been much discontent and upheaval since the death of my father,” Sara explained. “I believe that there are revolutionary groups sewing this discontent amongst the people, for very little has changed to make their attitudes so poor. They label every action of the monarchy to be one of tyranny, and have sought to impose limits on the power of the crown.”

“The cause that’s being championed right now, in conjunction with our parliament, is a new law, one that would force me to marry a suitable person to keep the throne,” Sara finished.

“What?” Dawn exclaimed, squeezing Piplup as she leaned forward.

“They want to make you get married?” Misty said in much the same tone. “But it’s not like that would solve any of their problems!”

“They are saying that no one person should hold the crown,” Sara explained calmly, but with a frown on her face. “Now that my Togepi has left the throne for me and me alone, they say I should marry, preferably a politician or a nobleman of another kingdom, in order to insure a balance of power.”

“But you’ve never done that here before, right?” Ash asked skeptically. “I thought you’d been doing this Togepi thing forever, and there’s never been a rule about marriage before.”

“That is true,” Sara said. “Though it’s rarely actually come up. Most monarchs do marry. Even though it’s never a law we’ve had in the past, it appeals to our parliament which is made up of priests. If it passes, then I will quash it, but they can revive it if they have enough votes.”

“That’s awful!” Misty said, making a fist and standing up. “They can’t force you to marry someone you don’t want to!”

“To tell the truth,” Sara said slowly, “I never intended to get married at all.”

“What?” As a romantic, Misty was definitely on board with the idea of people not being told when they had to get married or who they had to marry, but… not marrying at all?

“In the Mirage Kingdom, it has always been so that the King is the highest ruler,” Sara said. “No matter if the Togepi appeared to the Queen and the King merely attained his position through marriage. If I marry, then my role will diminish to that of heir-producing.” Those last two words had an edge on them that seemed all the sharper from such a refined person. “If I do not marry, then I have the power of both the Queen and the King.”

“There are only two ways to become royalty in the Mirage Kingdom,” Miranda spoke up somewhat tentatively. “The first is to have a Togepi appear to you, which is unlikely since her Majesty’s Togepi only left her a few years ago. The second is the marry someone who is royalty. You can see why this law appeals to the people, Miss.”

Misty sat down slowly. “I see,” she said.

“I can’t say for sure what’s going to happen,” Sara said calmly. “But with this law threatening passage, I may have no choice about marriage, and if a King with evil in his heart is selected, then I, my Kingdom, and the Togepi Paradise are all threatened.”

“And you don’t know when Hansen and that Verum Kingdom are gonna attack either,” Ash said, rubbing his forehead.

“Yes,” Sara agreed. “A calamity doesn’t seem far away, but I am cheered that you two have arrived. Dawn, I’m sure your Togekiss sensed the danger and wished to be here in case it is needed. Ash, I am sure it is no coincidence that fate brought you here, and Misty as well.”

“…That’s right,” Ash said, looking surprised. “I didn’t even ask… why are you here, Misty?”

“Oh, one of my students gave—” she stopped, suddenly looked embarrassed. “Well, that can wait until later,” she said, interrupting herself. “I mostly just wanted to see how Togetic and Sara were doing, and then I found out that there was trouble going on and… now you’ve shown up.”

“I don’t know how this is going to play out,” Sara said, “but I’m certain that you three are here for a reason… and Togekiss as well,” she added. “Will you not stay and see what can be done?”

The three of them exchanged looks and nodded together. “We can’t just leave after hearing all that,” Ash said.

“Right, Sara. We’re friends,” Misty agreed.

“And I’m not leaving either,” Dawn said. “I’m sure Togekiss wants us to stay.”

Sara smiled at them, took the tiara off her head and rubbed at the indentations in had left against her temples. It was a small looking crown but… surely it was solid gold, and probably heavier than it looked. “Thank you,” was all she said.

* * *

Dawn collapsed into an extra plush armchair in the room she’d been given while Piplup wandered around the room, pecking with boundless curiosity. She’d had a brush with royal digs when she’d traded places with Princess Salvia for awhile, but it still wasn’t the kind of treatment she was used to. Her room was just… beautiful. There was a lacy canopy on her bed and all the windows had gorgeous stained glass scenes of Togepi. After spending most nights in Pokemon Centers, she had to admit that the luxury was nice.

She took out the Poke ball that held Togekiss for what seemed like the hundredth time since talking with Queen Sara. She still remembered getting Togekiss from Princess Salvia. It hadn’t exactly been a smooth start between her and Togekiss, but they’d gotten it together soon enough and had set out to make their contest dreams come true together. She was afraid to let it out again. What if it flew off to the Paradise and she never saw it again?

There was a quiet knock on her door. Dawn hurriedly tucked her Poke ball away with the others. “Come in,” she said.

Misty opened the door tentatively and gave her a little wave. “I… couldn’t sleep,” she said by way of explanation.

Dawn didn’t say that considering it was nine o’clock and they’d only parted from Sara and company about half an hour ago that she couldn’t have been trying very hard. The fact was, Dawn really wanted to see more of Misty. Not only had she been dying to meet her since Ash had told her about her, but she’d grown more and more convinced when she watched her and Ash interact… maybe _she_ could say something to make him see the light.

“Me neither,” Dawn said. “Come on in!”

“Piplup?” Piplup said, looking up at Misty as she walked into the room and closed the door.

“Hey there, cutie!” Misty said, leaning down to beam at Piplup.

“Piiplup!” Piplup said, puffing out his chest. This girl obviously had excellent taste.

“Ash said you wanted to become a Water Pokemon master,” Dawn observed cheerfully.

Misty straightened up and gave a weak little grin. “That was a long time ago,” she admitted. “But Water Pokemon will always be my favorites.”

“So, it seems like Ash was really happy to see you,” Dawn said, as Misty took a seat. And this was very true… but something had seemed a little off to Dawn. Good friends who had been separated for so long… shouldn’t they have hugged? Maybe a shoulder pat or a high five? There’d been some… distance and Dawn wasn’t quite sure what to make of that yet. “It must’ve been awhile since you guys last saw each other.”

“Yes,” Misty said somewhat grimly. “Oh, we exchange e-mails every so often and we seem to run into each other every couple of years, but… you know Ash, he’s always gotta keep moving on.”

“I know,” Dawn said, nodding cheerlessly.

“He told me that he’s coming back to Kanto to try at the Indigo League again,” Misty said. “I have to wonder if he would’ve even stopped to visit me. You know how he gets when he’s got a goal in front of him.”

“I’m sure he means well,” Dawn said, in an effort to cheer Misty up.

“I know he does,” Misty said. “So… do you think he’ll win in the Indigo League?”

Dawn frowned. “To… to just hear the words he says you’d think he has no end of confidence, but… I don’t know. The way he talks, I’m not sure if he believes what he’s saying anymore.”

Misty set her hands in her lap and looked at them. “But he’ll keep trying, even if he fails and even if he doesn’t believe he can make it anymore… because he’s never even thought of having another dream.”

“I’m worried about him,” Dawn admitted. “He’ll never be happy if he keeps doing this.”

“He’s so thoughtless sometimes,” Misty said sharply as she clenched her fists. A second ago Dawn had thought she might cry, but now she looked more like she wanted to punch someone. “He’s ruining his own life and he can’t even see how this effects his Pokemon and his friends and—” she stopped abruptly and then put her head in her hands. “I’m such an idiot,” she said through them.

“What?” Dawn said, getting up. She didn’t really know what Misty was going through, but she knew she was upset.

Misty looked up at her, a little watery-eyed, but that seemed to be mostly out of frustration. Her thumb glided across her eyelid to wipe away a tear that was threatening to fall. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I should just—”

“No, it’s okay,” Dawn said, holding up her hands before Misty could leave. “What were you going to say?”

Misty stayed put. She shook her head and when she spoke next it was almost with a laugh, albeit a scornful one. “People are supposed to get over the crushes they had when they were ten, right? It all becomes some cute little memory from childhood that you don’t take seriously anymore.”

Dawn said nothing. _Everything_ seemed important when you were ten. It was amazing how age took you away from those things.

“I don’t know why I still care about him after all this time. He certainly hasn’t given me any reason to,” Misty said forcefully. “I haven’t smartened up since I was ten either. That’s why I’m an idiot—only an idiot would still love him.”

Dawn was quiet for a moment, then patted Misty’s hand. “I don’t think you’re an idiot to love him,” she said softly.

“ _Why? Do you?_ ”

The words had come out so sharply and so suddenly that Dawn felt herself almost pushed back by the sheer force of them. “No!” she said, holding up her hands in a placatory manner. “It’s just that we’ve been friends for awhile and I know that he’s really a great guy. I don’t love him like you do, but I think I can understand why you would.”

Misty blinked at Dawn. “Really?” she said in much more of an indoor-voice.

“Really,” Dawn said. “He’s determined and kind and encouraging. No one tries harder than Ash.”

Misty closed her eyes and nodded. “…And he’s stubborn and hotheaded. And he can be so dense sometimes that he hurts people without meaning to.” She stood up and had a sour look on her face. “…And I think those are the things I love and hate most about him.”

Dawn was looking at Misty as though seeing great potential. “You should talk to him,” she said.

Misty put a tired hand to her head. “Why bother? I mean, I’ve started so many times, but he just misses the point.”

“He needs someone right now,” Dawn said emphatically. “Someone’s got to tell him that there are other paths available to him besides becoming a Pokemon Master—someone who he trusts to take him down a notch when he needs it. Whether it leads to love or… something else entirely, he needs someone to tell him that that’s okay.”

Dawn took a deep breath. “I think that person is you, Misty.”


	3. Chapter 3

Misty paused for a moment before heading down the hall that would lead to Ash’s room. She wasn’t going there because of anything that Dawn had said. If she was honest with herself, then she had _always_ intended on going to see him. Seeing Dawn was the stall… the confidence builder. But her confidence didn’t feel built up, no matter what Dawn had said.

She turned down the hall and heard voices spilling out from an open door.

“—better get some rest, Pikachu. I don’t really know what’s up, but we gotta be ready so that we can help all the Togepi.”

“Kaa!” Pikachu answered determinedly.

Misty grinned and sidled around the doorway. “Typical Ash Ketchum,” she said. “Meandering from one place to the next helping one person after another—in between becoming the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world, of course.”

“Hey Misty!” Ash exclaimed, looking around with a smile.

“Pika pi!” Pikachu cried, jumping into her arms once more.

Misty laughed and hugged Pikachu back. “I just had to see how you were doing,” she explained. “We didn’t get much chance to talk with all the worry about the kingdom and all.”

“We’re doin’ great!” Ash declared. “Right Pikachu?”

Pikachu shrugged as though to say “comme ci, comme ça.”

Ash’s shoulders slumped. “Come on, Pikachu. What kind of answer is that?”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s just tired after all the traveling you’ve been doing,” Misty said, taking a seat with Pikachu on her lap. “You two hardly ever take breaks.”

“Well, there’s a lot to do,” Ash said a little doubtfully.

“I know what you mean,” Misty said with an understanding nod. “It’s like that at the gym too, and even when I finally feel like I’ve got everything balanced out, I can count on Daisy, Violet, or Lily taking on something _else_ for me to do.” She laughed. “But if I never made time for myself I think I’d just get sick of the whole thing.”

Ash’s brows knitted. “So are they still actresses?”

“Actress-model-philanthropist-jetsetters,” Misty said, rolling her eyes.

“And they _still_ never invite you to come along with them?”

“Sometimes they do,” Misty allowed with a small smile. “They’re not _completely_ heartless, you know. Or at least a little less heartless than they used to be. But someone’s gotta do the hard labor in this family.”

“But you’re going strong, right?” Ash asked. “You still like being a gym leader?”

Misty glanced at the ceiling in thought. “It has its ups and downs like anything else,” she said. “But overall, yeah, I really do love it.” She looked back at him intently, then set Pikachu down on the chair and got up as if to get a better look at him.

“New hat,” Misty commented after her intense look had Ash somewhat disconcerted.

“Not so new now,” Ash said with a shrug. “I’ve had it since starting out in the Pairaag region.”

“And that’s like… your seventh hat, right?” Misty said, counting them down in her head. “Strange,” she said vaguely as she walked behind him, “that first one took so much effort to get, but the rest have come and gone so easily.” She frowned.

Ash wasn’t really sure what she meant by that. “Well, I guess—” He cut himself off. She had reached her hands forward and her fingertips were just barely touching his hair. It was like a cloud of awkward had descended onto the room, and he wasn’t sure why that should have happened over such a light action.

“Ash…” she began in a quiet voice.

“Misty…?” Ash replied, not at all sure what was coming next.

There was silence awash with anticipation for a moment, then: “Do you _ever_ wash your hair?”

The tension in the room drained away in an instant.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Ash retorted, turning around to look at her. “I’ve been on the road for awhile and you can’t exactly find showers and shampoo in the woods.”

“Funny,” she replied with a wicked smile on her face, “Dawn seems to be managing _her_ hygiene just fine.”

Ash didn’t like being cornered with _logic._ “What do you care anyway? You’re not my mom!”

Ash was ready to instigate a bickering session, but Misty was looking serious. “Speaking of which, I went down to Pallet Town to visit your mom a few weeks ago. You know, she really misses you and it seems like you barely ever call these days.”

Ash leaned backwards as if her words had had some physical force to them. “N— That’s not even— I talked to her just last week!”

“Yes,” Misty said patiently, “but were you calling _her_ or Professor Oak?”

Ash’s mouth opened reflexively before he’d even managed to say the next thing. There was a sort of “how did you know?!” quality about his expression. “Well, I talked to her anyway so why should that matter?”

Misty sighed and took up a chair once more. “Because you weren’t calling to talk to _her,_ you were calling Professor Oak about a Pokemon-related problem. You know she’d never say a word about it, but one of the reasons she finds excuses to spend so much time in the lab is because that’s the only way she even has a chance of talking to you these days. Don’t you think she’d appreciate it if you called just the talk to her? Don’t you think we’d all appreciate that?”

Ash was starting to feel a little under attack and he wasn’t sure what he’d done to earn it. Not only that, but Misty’s attitude unnerved him. They’d always fought and it had gotten to the point where it was almost… comfortable, but she wasn’t arguing with the spirit that she usually had. She looked almost resigned and he didn’t know how to react to that. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked suspiciously.

“Just that…” Misty began, “you know your friends love to hear from you, Ash, but you barely ever call, and when you do it almost seems like you didn’t call to talk to us. You called to trade Pokemon news. You never want to talk about anything else.”

“Wh—” Ash began. “What’s wrong with that? What else am I supposed to talk about?”

She shook her head. _Of course._ Of course he’d have that attitude. “So, becoming a Pokemon Master is still all you can think about, is it?” she asked in what was more a sigh than a question.

“Absolutely!” Ash said, holding up a fist. “I’m not gonna quit until I’m champion! I just know I’m gonna win in Kanto! This time’s different!”

“What if you don’t?” Misty said in quiet, but definite voice.

Ash stared at her. Her almost-whisper seemed to have all the force of a wrecking ball. “That’s not gonna happen!” he rallied. “I learned a lot from my last league battles, and I’m gonna use that to claim victory.”

Misty didn’t argue this, instead she looked at Pikachu, patting it on the head. She knew that at least Pikachu was more perceptive than Ash. It looked tired. Surely it had started its journey burning with as much passion for the championship as Ash had, but after all this time… maybe it was ready for something else too. But it would stick by Ash. It would _always_ stick by Ash.

“Hey Ash,” Misty said softly.

“What?” Ash said sharply, ready for the next barb.

“Did you ever really believe I’d become a Water Pokemon Master?”

The change in subject caught Ash off guard. He didn’t know why Misty was bringing that up, or even how to answer that question. “Well, I guess I always thought you’d—” he began awkwardly.

“Because _I_ don’t anymore,” she said fiercely. “But you know what? That’s okay. I mean… it’s not like you don’t matter just because you’re not ‘the best.’ I’m proud of my accomplishments and my Pokemon. I’m good enough for myself at least and I’m doing what I love to do. If I kept chasing after the same goals I chased after when I was ten then I don’t think I’d ever manage to be happy.”

Ash just stared at her. Maybe… now that she asked it… he’d never _really_ believed that she’d become a Water Pokemon Master. Sure, she talked about it a lot, but she’d acted like it was such a foregone conclusion sometimes that he’d had his doubts. So why did it just throw him completely off balance that she’d let that goal go? It just… wasn’t right. You can’t just _quit_ a goal like that.

“So you just gave up?”

She gave him a sharp look. “No, I _didn’t_ ‘just give up.’ I still love Water Pokemon with all my heart; I just don’t need to be the best. If I kept single-mindedly pursuing that goal then I wouldn’t have room in my heart for anything else: for my sisters, for my friends, for my students, for my water rescue mission, for…” She trailed off, but then rallied. “I’ve got too many wonderful things in my life to let not being the best get me down.”

Ash was staring ahead with a somewhat perplexed look. Misty gave him a sidelong glance and hoped that some of what she was trying to communicate was getting through. She went for broke. “You know, Ash,” she began in a would-be casual voice, “I heard that they’re looking for a new leader to take over the Vermillion City gym.”

Ash snapped out of his reverie and gave her a surprised look. “What happened to Lt. Surge?” he asked.

Misty gave him a look and clucked her tongue. “Don’t you pay attention to the news? He got a big important staff position in the new Kanto Administration. Military expert or something. So they need someone to take his place.”

“Wow,” Ash said, crossing his arms. “Never thought he’d go. Remember when we fought against him, Pikachu?”

“Pi!” Pikachu said, pumping its little fists furiously. It was the first time it had demonstrated its strength over those uppity-evolved Raichu. It had been a _good_ day.

“They’re going to have to get a really good trainer to take his place,” Misty said hintingly. “Someone who’s got a lot of experience with battling, and seen lots of different battle styles in different places.”

“And someone with a Raichu,” Ash said.

Misty sat up and clenched her fists angrily at him. “It doesn’t have to be a Raichu! This is gonna be a whole new leader with different Pokemon, not just someone standing in for Surge!”

“I guess,” Ash said thoughtfully. “Huh,” he said. “Can’t wait to see who they pick.”

She slapped her forehead and sat down. She forgot how difficult communicating anything to Ash was if you didn’t spell it out in giant block letters. “Me either,” she said through gritted teeth. She took a deep breath and tried once more. “Vermillion City _isn’t that far away from Cerulean City_ , so I’m sure I’ll be able to take my students around to see the gym once it’s taken over.”

“That’ll be convenient,” Ash said simply.

Misty sighed. “I give up,” she muttered.

“What was that?” Ash said, leaning forward.

“Nothing,” Misty muttered, slumping back in her chair.

Ash leaned forward curiously. He knew Misty was trying to say something, but also that she wasn’t doing a very good job of it. He’d just have to wait until she managed to say what was on her mind. “Hey, you mentioned students, right?” Ash said, casting around for a new conversation topic.

“Yeah,” Misty said, still not having quite enough motivation to really get into the conversation after Ash’s failure to take note of her obvious hints. “Gym leaders have a responsibility to educate other trainers. The new gym leader of Vermillion City _—whoever he may be,_ ” she added, as though trying to etch the words on his skull, “will have to take on students too.”

“Right,” Ash said, oblivious to Misty’s skull engraving efforts, “So how’d you get time off from teaching to come here?”

Now it was Misty’s turn to feel like the conversation was hitting too close to home. She looked away with her face slightly flushed. “Actually, it’s because of one of my students that I’m here,” she said, putting her hands in her sweatshirt pockets.

Ash gave her a questioning look and she decided that she couldn’t get out of sharing. She pulled something out of her pocket, looked at it for a moment, and then opened her hand to show it to Ash.

It was a clear round gem. Well, to say it was clear wasn’t quite accurate. One moment it looked clear, but when the light changed it glimmered with, first bright green, and then fiery orange.

“Whoa! A Shiny Stone!” Ash exclaimed, looking at the opaline gem in wonder.

“Yes,” Misty said, pulling it back and looking at it fondly but with a rather conflicted expression. “One of my students gave it to me when I told him about my Togetic here in Mirage Kingdom. He’s very ambitious, travels a lot… in some ways he reminds me of you.” She paused in definite thought. “But in some ways not at all.” She shook that thought away. “Anyway, he found it and thought he’d pass it on to me. So I decided to come here and see if Togetic has any interest in evolving.”

Ash frowned. Something wasn’t right about this. Sure, there was a lot to worry about when it came to evolution. Togetic might not want to evolve… point of fact, Misty might not want it to evolve since she looked rather unsure. Togetic’s personality might change if it became a Togekiss. But… that wasn’t what was wrong… “So, your students are like, little kids, right?” he asked and wasn’t entirely sure why he did.

Misty blinked at him. “I have some junior classes, but Luke—the one who gave me the Shiny Stone—is from my older class. He’s my age.”

This did nothing to make Ash’s unease go away. “So, what… he just gave you the Shiny Stone in class? Doesn’t seem like that should be allowed. Giving gifts to the teacher and all. Some people might see it like a bribe.”

Misty glared at him as though not appreciating having her integrity questioned. “Well, he’s not the kind of person who’d ever do that and _I’m_ not the kind of person who’d favor a student just because they gave me a gift. And anyway, he didn’t give it to me in class.”

“Where then?”

Misty bit her lip. This was going too far. “Cerulean Cape,” was all she said.

It annoyed Misty that Ash was not very good at picking up the hints that he was _supposed_ to understand, but he was excellent at picking up the ones that she’d rather he didn’t notice. “Isn’t that a _dating spot?_ ” he asked, giving her a mortified look.

“So what if it is?!” Misty exploded, standing up with fists clenched. “I’m allowed to have a social life! I’ve earned that at least! Was I supposed to just wait around this whole time? Just because _you_ don’t want anything to do with that kind of thing doesn’t mean the rest of us should be forced to abstain!”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything!” Ash shot back, standing up and unconsciously mimicking her posture. “I just don’t think it’s right to go around dating _your students!_ Isn’t that just irresponsible?”

“What? As irresponsible as running away from home with your Pokemon and refusing to grow up?” Misty countered, taking a step forward.

“What are you implying?” Ash demanded, stepping forward himself.

Their nose-to-nose rage ended with a giant “HMMPH!” from both sides.

Misty turned on her heel and declared “I don’t know why I ever bother!” before slamming the door shut behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Breakfast, by all accounts, should’ve been nice. The Mirage Kingdom cooks were of that divine caliber that can turn the first meal of the day into desert. Dawn and Piplup were chowing down on a waffle with strawberries tucked into every dimple and whipped cream on top. And that was her making a _healthy_ concession; the first thing that’d caught her eye was the cheesecake stuffed blueberry pancakes. To top it all off, they were at the queen’s table eating with a bunch of other fancy people. It should’ve been great, but…

The cold atmosphere to either side of her where Ash and Misty were both looking determinedly in opposite directions told her that last night’s conversation hadn’t gone remotely well. At this point Dawn would’ve been almost thrilled if they’d gone for the traditional “Dawn, can you ask Ash to pass the pepper?” and “Dawn, tell Misty if she wants the pepper then she can ask me for it herself!” The not-talking-to-each-other by doing a _great deal_ of talking to each other route would at least have meant that they were still trying to prod at each other. Any communication was better than just glaring in opposite directions and pretending that the other one didn’t exist.

She was distracted from her worries over them by the arrival of a young man in uniform. He looked like he had to be from the military, but his uniform with the tall white hat and the gold braid epaulets on each shoulder reeked of importance. He must be an officer, Dawn decided, though rather young for one.

He bowed as he approached Queen Sara, seated in a chair somewhat higher than the others around the royal table. “Your Majesty,” he said deferentially.

“Good morning, Jason,” Sara said with a small smile that implied that while _he_ was free to take up any formality he liked, she’d decline. “What can I help you with?”

He straightened up and rolled his shoulders back, extending a scroll he’d been holding in a clean, white glove. “The product of last night’s legislative session, ma’am,” he said. “They’ve agreed on the terms of the bill and they await your signature.” The last clause came out as though the man felt that they could wait and wait until they were blue in the face.

“I see,” Sara said, taking the scroll from his gloved hand. “They don’t usually work into the night. I can see that they’re really set on this.” She opened the parchment and ran her eyes over it. “Tell me, Jason, what’s the captain of the guard doing playing messenger for Congress?”

“They wish to exercise an old parliamentary procedure,” the captain explained with some distaste. “To put it bluntly, ma’am, they think you’re going to stall. They want you to know that you have a day to make up your mind as to whether to sign it into law or not, and if you go over time, they’ll petition for a regency hearing.”

“They’re in a hurry, I can see,” Sara said, nervousness tinged with slight bitterness. “Do they think I’m getting less marriageable by the hour?”

“I should hope not, ma’am,” Jason said with a slight nod of his head.

A smile flickered for just a moment on the Queen’s face. She passed the scroll back to the captain. “No need to make them wait. Tell them straight away that I have no intention of signing this ridiculous piece of legislation into law.”

Jason took the scroll back gingerly, their fingertips brushing as the scroll left the Queen’s hands. “They said you might say that, ma’am. And if so, I was to tell you that they will convene an emergency session this afternoon to conduct a vote to override you.”

Queen Sara sat back with a grave expression. “I would expect nothing less of them.” She summoned a very small smile and inclined her head at the captain. “You may leave now, Jason. Thank you.”

“They’re actually trying to pass that awful marriage law?” Misty asked, not able to believe the gall of parliament.

“At this point it’s looking like they _will_ pass it,” Sara said, her chin lowered to her chest.

“But that’s terrible! They can’t do this!” Misty pounding her fist against the table and accidentally upsetting Piplup’s balance.

“There’s gotta be something we can do,” Ash said.

Dawn saw the two of them exchanged a look and knew that their feud, whatever it was over, hadn’t been forgotten. They were just shuffling it aside to deal with the more important matter of helping Sara and the Mirage Kingdom.

“There may not be,” Sara said mournfully. “I think it’s time I began thinking of what to do if worse should come to worse.”

“Your Majesty,” Miranda began in a soft, shocked voice. “You can’t mean—”

“No,” Sara said definitively. “I will not abandon my post no matter what the circumstances. So if the law passes, I must comply with it, but…” She was looking thoughtful as she stood up and set her napkin down on the table.

“I think I must excuse myself early. There is much to think about and I must see if I can persuade parliament to see reason. I am sorry this all happened so quickly.” She gave her guests a weak smile. “Please enjoy the rest of your breakfast.” Before gathering up her skirts and gliding away with her retinue.

“It’s so wrong…” Dawn said, watching the troubled Queen disappear down the hall. “She’s just trying to do her best for the kingdom and they’re putting her through this…”

“And that parliament is probably gonna want her to marry someone who’s only going to hurt the kingdom and the Togepi,” Ash said with a frown.

“Ash, we’ve got to help Sara,” Misty said almost pleadingly.

Misty had accused Ash of not growing up. Well, he was at least grown up enough to know that what was happening to Queen Sara and the Mirage Kingdom was more important than their stupid fight. They could be mad at each other on their own time.

“Yeah,” he said leaning back in his chair.

“But how?” Dawn asked. She thought of her own Togekiss who had taken them there by instinct, not even knowing if it could do anything. But it came because it had to help. It just had to. “Who knows what all this is doing to the Togepi Paradise?”

Misty stirred. “Maybe we should go there… if we can.”

“You think that’ll help?” Dawn asked.

“Well,” Misty said, leaning her elbows on the table as she thought, “the last time we were here, when the Kingdom was in trouble, my Togetic and all the Togepi helped us fight against Colonel Hansen.” It sounded like a long shot the more she thought about it. “But… I don’t know how much that’d help now. I mean… it’s not like they can fight their own parliament.”

“I say we try it,” Ash said, standing up with Pikachu clinging to his shoulders. “It can’t hurt, right? I mean, you never know.”

Ash had apparently never heard that you can’t fight city hall. Even in the midst of her frustration with him, Misty couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah,” she said. “It might help after all.”

“But do you even know if we can get there?” Dawn asked, looking concernedly from one to the other.

“Nope,” Ash said boldly. “But I know where we can start.”

* * *

The temple stretched its mauve columns into the sky. It was that kind of clear, blue sky you almost always got in the Mirage Kingdom: where every day should be picturesque. It was a very scenic town. When it didn’t appear scenic, the townsfolk would get uneasy. What didn’t make them at all uneasy was the phantom version of the temple that hung upside down in the sky above it. _That_ was a blessing.

“That’s where we got in before,” Misty said, looking up at the bright blue doorway in the sky.

“But how are we supposed to get way up there?” Dawn asked. Even if they climbed to the roof of the temple they’d never make it to that height.

“I was thinking,” Ash said, “before we got in because Misty’s Togepi brought us there. So maybe…”

“Maybe Togekiss could get us there!” Dawn finished, anticipating where he was going. “Yeah! It’s gotta be worth a shot.”

She took out the Poke ball containing Togekiss and held it briefly. She was still afraid that Togekiss would fly away and leave her, but now… now they were here. Where Togekiss wanted to be. And maybe they could both finally help.

“Togekiss, come on out!” she said, lobbing the Poke ball.

“Kiss?” Togekiss murmured in surprise as it appeared in unfamiliar surroundings.

“Togekiss,” Dawn said, striding up to it. “I know you wanted to come here because you sensed that the Togepi were in danger and you want to help them. So please, let us help too. Can you take us all to the Togepi Paradise?”

“Toge…” Togekiss began, staring at the glowing blue door up in the sky. Suddenly, its body seemed the glow in the same shade, as it floated—not quite flying—a few feet in the air. Then a massive white light pulsed through the air, enveloping all of them.

“What’s happening?” Dawn asked, clutching Piplup and closing her eyes against the blinding light.

“I—I think—” Misty managed to get out against the rapid chaos of the energy field they were in.

And then they felt a jerking sense as the world was pulled out from under them.

* * *

The blessed sense of ground beneath their feet soon returned. The people and Pokemon looked around at their new surroundings. They were in a large clearing around a lush forest. It was the kind of scenery that would’ve normally encouraged a person to settle down in a cabin and just… commune with nature for the rest of their lives. But… there were snags. The grass was tall, but… beginning to wilt, as were the trees. A perpetual autumn seemed to have overcome the forest, with a threat of winter in the white, empty sky.

“It’s dying!” Ash was the first to call out in anguish.

“Where is everyone?” Misty asked, her worry obvious. “Even before when Hansen was here there were weak Togepi around. Now…” She rushed forward. “Togetic!” she called. “Togetic, where are you?!”

“Pika pi!” Pikachu called from Ash’s shoulder.

As they looked wildly around for the slightest glimpse of Togetic, Ash couldn’t help but be reminded of all those times when Togepi had gotten lost. Togepi was so… curious that it always seemed to be running off and getting into trouble. It had always made Misty worry, but they’d always get him back in the end. With all the panic going on in the Kingdom below, would that be the case this time?

Her eyes were wavering. Togetic was still her baby after all.

Seeing her like that softened for a moment any remaining flames of a grudge he’d been holding. “Don’t worry, Misty,” he said. “We’ll find Togetic. I promise.”

Misty sniffed. Ash’s easiness with promises was another thing that had always bothered her slightly. He didn’t _know._ Maybe Togetic had fled for good or maybe something terrible had happened to him. Ash couldn’t _know._ Yet he promised. Because he thought he could make the world right if he just tried hard enough. He tried so hard though, and wanted so much for things to be good and right, that you had to forgive him this. And right now… it was comforting. “Right,” she said. “He’s got to be here.”

Dawn turned to Togekiss with her hands clenched in determined fists. “We’ll help too, right Togekiss?”

“Kiss!” Togekiss agreed and took to the skies.

They walked through the empty pocket dimension that should’ve housed Togepi from all over the world. They called out for Misty’s Togetic, or any Togepi that might’ve been hiding, but they saw no one. Misty ran ahead and they heard her gasp.

“Guys, look at this!”

“Did you find the Togepi?” Ash asked, running toward her with Dawn following.

“No, but…” Misty gestured toward the clearing before them.

There were nests. Dozens and dozens of them. With tiny, white shell fragments with faded blue and red markings on them. There were only a few fragments in each nest, but then again, Togepi wear most of their eggs.

“So here are the nests… but where are all the Togepi?” Dawn asked, hugging Piplup tightly.

Misty walked over to the nearest nest and leaned over, picking up one of the shell fragments and feeling its texture. She crumpled it in her hand and sprinkled the shards on the ground. “These eggs aren’t new; they’re at least a year old.”

“You can tell?” Ash asked, impressed.

Misty stood up. “That’s right,” she said, “you haven’t seen the new nursery we built in the gym yet. Well, I’ve been taking care of a lot of eggs lately and the newer ones have a more… it’s hard to describe, but it’s more of an organic feel.” She looked up into the sky and bit her lower lip. “Egg laying season has past. There should be new eggs here.”

“Isn’t this supposed to be the main breeding ground for Togepi all over the world?” Dawn asked. She looked at the lonely piles of eggshells, their former inhabitants nowhere to be seen in that desolate place that should have been the start of new life. “What’ll happen to the Togepi if there are no more eggs?”

Ash looked grim, but he was trying to search for solutions. “It’ll be okay,” he said. “Even if there’s only one Togepi evolution left then the species can still recover. All you’d need is a Ditto and—”

“No!” Misty and Dawn cut him off at the same time.

Ash scratched at his hair and gave them a look as though he thought they were overreacting. “But it’s a really efficient way to get eggs. A guy at the daycare center told me—”

“Efficiency isn’t the only thing that matters in that kind of situation!” Misty snapped. She exchanged a look with Dawn and hoped she didn’t expect her to have _that_ kind of talk with Ash too.

Dawn knelt and ran the dirt and eggshell mixture through her fingers. She didn’t have Misty’s frame of reference for eggs… there was always so much out there yet to learn. But Misty was right. They did feel… dead in some way.

“There’s no future for them if this is all there is…”

“Or for the Mirage Kingdom,” Ash said. “If things are this bad now, then imagine what it would be like if the Queen has to marry some guy with an evil heart.”

Misty’s stance subtly changed. “Maybe… but maybe Sara can pick someone who would actually be good for the kingdom.”

“Like Jason,” Dawn said, following that thought.

“What?” Ash said, looking at the two of them as though their comments had come completely out of nowhere. “You heard what the Queen said: she doesn’t want to get married. Even if this Jason guy makes a good captain of the guard or whatever, it’s not like they’d actually _want_ to get married. And if they’re not happy then the paradise will just get worse.”

“I know Sara doesn’t want to get married because she wants to be in charge,” Misty said, brows furrowing, “but if she has to get married then she might as well pick someone that she loves. She might actually be happier then.”

Ash gave her a befuddled look. “Since when does she love that Jason guy?”

“I think she does too,” Dawn put in.

Ash transferred his look to Dawn. “Am I missing something?”

“She smiled at him,” Dawn said simply.

“So? I smile at a lot of people I’m not in love with,” Ash answered.

 _I noticed_ , Misty thought sullenly. “There was… this atmosphere of sexual tension between them,” she explained. “Not that you’d understand,” she added in a low, but nevertheless audible voice. “I’ve seen them interact before when I’ve visited and, to be honest, I think they’re already involved.”

Ash appeared to accept this, but it didn’t make him any less confused. “Then what’s the problem? Why aren’t they already married?”

Misty sighed. Explaining the intricacies of courtly love affairs to someone who _didn’t_ have morally questionable books with titles like _The Seduction of Lady Isabelle_ and _Princess Anatallia’s Lover_ tucked under their mattress would be difficult. Although it struck her that giving such books a look-over might be good for some of the… less developed areas of his education. He probably wouldn’t read them though. Stupid boy.

“Just… some people don’t want to get married, okay?” she said, and left it at that.

“Tog-ge!” came a cry from the clouds.

“Look!” Dawn said, pointing up.

Up in the sky, almost blending in against its whiteness, was the feathery figure of Dawn’s Togekiss flying in after its reconnaissance over the Paradise. But it wasn’t alone. Circling around her on pixie wings, was a smaller figure, chirping in the joy of a long loneliness now broken.

“Togetic!” Misty cried, a genuine smile filling her face with light.

* * *

On the other side of the desert, filtered through the shimmering, super-heated air, was a tower. It wasn’t dark, it certainly wasn’t built to look malevolent. In its heyday it had probably looked quite grand and would’ve filled any countryman who saw it was a tear-welling patriotic pride. But now it was old and it was crumbling. The days when a team of highly trained individuals could’ve been afforded to maintain the castle tower and its expansive lawns were gone. Now there was only decay, and a sort of creeping, predatory feeling. It was desperation. One last chance, it said. Give me one last chance to get it all back.

The inner chamber was candlelit. It would’ve given its occupants some dignity if that had been an atmospheric choice. Perhaps a few skulls—their eye-sockets flowing with rivers of dribbling tallow. But that was not the case. The electric bill hadn’t been paid. It hadn’t been paid in a very long time. Candles had sufficed once, they could do so again.

A man in black clattered across the stone floor, shaking his cloak slightly as he moved to get the sand out. He bowed before the remains of a throne, half-hidden in the shadows. His moustache twitched and his lank, grey hair hung long over his shoulders.

“Your Royal Highness,” he announced in a satisfied tone, “the law has passed.”

The shadowed man sitting in the throne leaned forward only slightly, just his hands coming into the light, folded together and anxious.

“Very good,” he said. “Then let us proceed with the plan, Colonel Hansen.”


End file.
